CASE volunteers navigate online programs with commitment and people-focus
At 5 p.m. on June 8, 2020, after a day of discussions and Q&As, the first leg of the all-online 2020 Young Alumni and Student Engagement Conference wrapped up with a virtual reception.
Lingering online after the reception, three faculty members and conference chair Skylar Beaver took a moment to reflect. With creative planning, they’d transformed a popular in-person program into a fully online experience.
“When that last session wrapped up, all the faculty had such a good moment together being like, ‘Wow. We actually did that!’” says Beaver, director of The Lawrenceville Fund at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, U.S. “It was exhilarating.”
Every year, volunteers like Beaver give their time to present, teach, and mentor at CASE conferences—and this year, those volunteers tackled the unique challenge of building connections amid COVID-19. In 20-plus programs delivered online from May to October, volunteers navigated Zoom sessions, redesigned presentations, dabbled in networking and icebreaker activities, shared resources online, and more—all in the service of giving back to the profession and supporting fellow advancement colleagues.
Plus, this year, many volunteers had to navigate pandemic-related challenges, points out Adrian Punaks, executive director of development at University College London. He chaired the 2020 CASE Europe Spring Institute in Educational Fundraising in June, one of the first CASE programs to make the online transition.
“I’m proud of the way the faculty took on the challenge… when everybody had lots going on both personally and professionally. Everyone did it in good humor,” Punaks says. Faculty were able to connect with delegates and build solid relationships—a cornerstone of the program, which is designed for newcomers to advancement.
That in-person interaction is what many CASE volunteers thrive on—and what sustains them as volunteers.
“I think one of the reasons why people love going to a conference is that interactive piece: both interacting with the faculty but then also with your peers,” says Beaver, who’s met friends and mentors as a volunteer. “Organizations like CASE can really set a good foundation for people to build those types of relationships.”
For the Young Alumni and Student Engagement program, faculty worked hard, Beaver pointed out, to give participants chances to network.
Rebecca Tseng Smith, senior executive director of development at University of California San Diego, echoed that sentiment. As chair of the Inspiring the Largest Gifts of a Lifetime program, Smith typically loves being in “the big room” at a conference and inviting participants and faculty to be part of conversations.
“It’s been just a joy to come together with that group every year to talk about ideas that are super important to us,” she says.
At this year’s Inspiring the Largest Gifts online program, those same big ideas still resonated. For instance, participants discussed what it means to be donor-centric, says Smith.
“We all believe and want to be donor-centric, but unpacking that means we shift our mindset,” she says. “That ‘ah-ha’ moment was really meaningful, and it came through to them just as it does in our in-person conference.”.
Ultimately, advancement is based on marshalling support from volunteers—so it’s fitting that CASE calls on advancement professionals to give back as volunteers as well, says Smith. Even though that experience looked different this year, it was rooted in a principle perhaps more essential in an online world: authenticity.
For instance, at the Spring Institute in Educational Fundraising, Punaks typically closes the program by inviting the faculty to offer one word to attendees. He did that this year, too.
“The word I’ve always used since I’ve been a member of faculty and chair is authenticity. Be yourself,” Punaks says. “When doing things virtually and during a global pandemic, it was really great to see the real people behind the volunteers and organizations, in their homes. There was something really positive about that.”
